Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, was fired last week amid a massive gambling scandal that leaves so many questions unanswered. Many of them stem from his background.
Is he who he says he is?! We don’t know.
Mizuhara allegedly wired at least $4.5 million from the Japanese superstar’s bank account to a bookie in order to cover his massive gambling debts. However, the story doesn’t add up and there are (unsubstantiated) suspicions that Shohei Ohtani was throwing games, which led Major League Baseball to open a formal investigation after his ouster.
It gets even weirder when you dig into Mizuhara’s team-issued biographies from his time with the Angels. Much of it appears to be untrue. Or, at the very least, exaggerated.
Who is Ippei Mizuhara?
The organization listed Mizuhara has having graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2007. A spokesperson told NBC Los Angeles that there is no record that he ever attended the school.
UC Riverside did not respond to The Athletic when asked if Mizuhara may have attended the university under a different name. Nor did it indicate whether someone with a similar name had ever enrolled.
That is not all!
Mizuhara’s biography with the Angels indicated that he worked as an interpreter for Hideki Okajima with the New York Yankees during Spring Training in 2012. Okajima failed a physical on Feb. 17, 2012 and was released by the team.
While it is possible that Mizuhara worked with the Yankees and Okajima prior to the official start of camp, if the latter was cut by the former on that date, he would not have participated in Spring Training. Hm.
Los Angeles listed that Mizuhara “served as an interpreter for Hidekei Okajima during Yankees Spring Training in 2012.” It did so every single year, starting in 2019. That may not be true.
In addition, multiple news reports mention that Mizuhara got his first opportunity with the MLB in 2010. He supposedly served as Okajima’s interpreter with the Red Sox.
Boston says no.
We are reaching out to all of you because of reports in various outlets stating that Ippei Mizuhara worked for the Red Sox as an interpreter, which is incorrect. Mizuhara was never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity and was not an interpreter for Hideki Okajima during the pitcher’s time with the team. Please know that we have thoroughly checked our files to ensure we are providing accurate information.
— Boston Red Sox in a statement
The Boston Globe named Ryo Shinkawa as Okajima’s interpreter in April and May of 2010. The Red Sox listed who people who were not Mizuhara on its media guide in 2010.
Major League Baseball is investigating. As is the federal government!
The truth will (probably?) come out.